THERE will be Dutchmen determined to establish their worth in both dressing rooms at the Amsterdam Arena on Wednesday night.

While Frank de Boer's Ajax side struggle for their Group H existence and attempt to atone for their defeat at Parkhead, the match will also be a homecoming of sorts for two men in Celtic colours who have differing reasons to feel spurned by their homeland.

Although he has yet to impress the national team coach Louis van Gaal sufficiently to be included in the Dutch squad, it is fair to assume a few scouts in the country are quietly kicking themselves about their failure to identify Virgil van Dijk's abilities when they were being displayed at lowly Groningen.

And as for Derk Boerrigter, approaching full fitness again after a recent injury, the whole thing will feel even more immediate. So keen is the former Ajax winger to show his old club what they are missing that manager Neil Lennon feels there is a danger of him trying too hard on the night.

"What you can't do is get too het up about it, try too hard and then the game passes you by so quickly because you are worried about other factors," said Lennon. "What you have got to do is play the game first and if that is good enough on the night, then great.

"I don't think Derk has anything to prove to Ajax. He may want to prove a point himself, but we have to temper that and remember he is playing for Celtic now. He is not an Ajax player."

For all that the Northern Irishman is worried about his Dutchmen over-exerting themselves, such a scenario would seem unlikely when it comes to Van Dijk, so effortlessly has he made most things seem since his £2.5 million arrival in the summer. He is polished on the floor and possessed of what his manager calls an appreciation of the "blood and snotters side of it, too".

So complete has his game appeared in his three months in Scotland that his manager feels it may have just been his languid demeanour which put off bigger clubs in his homeland.

"Having been over to Holland a few times to watch Ajax, and speaking to a few scouts, they were surprised someone in England didn't buy him, or one of the bigger clubs in Holland," said Lennon. "They are usually very prof-icient at spotting talents and signing them. So I don't know why they didn't move for Virgil. When I first saw him I thought 'wow'. At first you wonder if there's something you're missing.

"But I knew we had to keep on watching him. We watched him against Ajax and Johan Mjallby came back and said he'd played well, that he rated him. Then I watched him in a play-off game. I wondered what he'd be like pace-wise because he just looked like a big stroller. But then there was a ball over the top and he just eased through the gears and got to it. I was straight on the phone after that making it clear we had to sign him."

Van Dijk, of course, is only one element of a re-shaped central defence at Parkhead. Efe Ambrose also appears rejuvenated by the relationship he has found with Van Dijk. While there will always be occasional mis-steps along the way with the Nigerian, it is hugely to the club's benefit to have two players able to bring the ball into midfield - particularly against sides in domestic Scottish play who sit in behind the ball.

"It's all about communication," said Ambrose, when asked to define the secrets of their partnership. "Sometimes when I know he's going I have to sit back for him.

"It's my game as well, though - that's why the manager has confidence in me. He knows I like doing that but to do that you need cover behind you in case there are any slip-ups. No-one is perfect. The manager encourages us to go because it helps to create more chances in attack, and more space. But he tells you that if you do, then make sure you get it right."

Ambrose knows Van Dijk may feel an added onus to assume centre stage on his return to Holland, but feels most of the pressure will be on Ajax. "Everyone wants to play back home to prove a point," he said. "But Celtic are a team, that's how we have to play. Virgil understands that - it's not a one-man show. The last time Ajax came without pressure because we had to win at home, but the pressure is all back on them now. They know they can't lose the game if they are to have any chance of qualifying. The better team will win the game - and I believe we're the better team."

Judging by the post-match comments of the Ajax players, some of them weren't quite so sure. De Boer's outfit generally left Parkhead with a sense of wronged indignance about their inability to turn possession into goals, and Lennon knows they will face an almost identical, interchanging 4-3-3 shape on Wednesday night. While Celtic will once again be without captain Scott Brown after Uefa upheld his three-match Champions League ban, Lennon reckons the return of Kris Commons, and availability of Georgios Samaras, and possibly even Boerrigter, will give his own side an extra dimension. Ajax may have a superiority complex but he sees no reason why Celtic should have an inferiority one.

"I can't see them changing," said Lennon. "They won't. They have great belief in the way they play. To say they are rigid is maybe unfair because they have great flair in their team, and play with great fluidity, but they won't change. Listen, there is no question we are punching above our weight, but why not? We are in the competition and we crave it. Everyone in this room craves it. The fans crave it, the people in Scotland crave it as do I as a manager, and the players. It's the be-all and end-all, really. It is the premier one and I don't want to go out. I want to qualify."

Another reason for Celtic to get to Amsterdam with a spring in their step, cheered by the better part of 10,000 supporters, will be memories of their visit there in a Champions League qualifier in 2001. The Parkhead side, featuring Lennon and inspired by Didier Agathe, conjured a famous 3-1 win against an Ajax side featuring a young Rafael van der Vaart, eventually progressing despite a 1-0 reverse at Celtic Park.

"At the time we sort of didn't realise how good it was," said Lennon. "You only look back on it later and realise it was a fantastic performance. It came out of the blue because I don't think anyone expected us to play like that in Amsterdam. We played with great pace and took our goals really well. We probably needed the third goal because in the second leg Ajax played brilliantly for a good half hour at Celtic Park. It was very fraught at that stage.

"But, yes, we've got great great memories of the arena. Agathe scored one, then crossed one for what was one of my favourite goals, from Chris Sutton. It was a proper British centre forward's goal, and I love those kind of goals … I think we should show some of our players the DVD of that."